gameofthronesfandomcom-20200223-history
The Great Masters of Meereen
"The Great Masters of Meereen" is part of the Histories & Lore, a special feature from Game of Thrones: The Complete Fifth Season. It is narrated by Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei. Synopsis Missandei discusses the self-styled "Great Masters", the powerful aristocratic slaver families that rule over Meereen, largest city in Slaver's Bay. Narration Missandei: "The Great Masters of Meereen". As if calling themselves such could make them so. '' ''Thousands of years ago during the height of the Ghiscari Empire, Meereen was second only to Old Ghis in wealth and glory. A paradise by the sea if one didn't mind the constant clinking of chains and cracking whips. '' ''Slaves built Meereen, and on their backs, the city rested like a litter. Then came the dragons of Valyria. The Masters of Old Ghis would not bow, so they burned. The Valyrians tore down their walls, burned their pyramids to ash and sewed their fields with salt and skulls. An old slave woman once told me that the Valyrians intended to break the chains of the Ghiscari slaves, absorbing them into the Valyrian Freehold where every man held a vote. '' ''But the Great Masters of Meereen received their new overlords in the Great Temple, plying them with gold, wine and all the wealth that slavery had bought them, and the Valyrians instead took up the whip themselves. I do not believe it. As their empire expanded, the Valyrians needed more and more bodies to feed their mines and colonies, where no wage could ever tempt a free man. '' ''The Great Masters merely accommodated their new customers, staying rich as the Ghiscari Empire crumbled. After the Doom fell on Valyria, the Great Masters worried for their fortunes. By this time the Valyrians were their greatest providers and purchasers of slaves. Then the Dothraki horselords swept out of the plains of Essos and proved to be as fond of slaving as the dragonlords before them. The Great Masters grew richer still. For the first time in its history, the Great Masters alone ruled Meereen and chaos ruled the rest of the world. The fighting pits swallowed men who in previous centuries would have filled the ranks of the Valyrian armies. '' ''Without these soldiers to maintain order, the wealthy had to buy their own, which the Good Masters of Astapor were more than willing to sell. If the buyer's nerves still needed calming, the Wise Masters of Yunkai could sell him further release. The Great Masters. The Good Masters. The Wise Masters. '' ''Yet none were so great, good or wise that they recognized our queen for what she was. '' ''Her ancestors had destroyed them, then become them. Perhaps they assumed she would bend as easily. But our queen does not bend. She breaks. Notes Appearances Characters *Daenerys Targaryen *Drogon (appears, unnamed) Noble Houses Locations *Essos **Ghiscari Empire **Old Ghis **Meereen **Yunkai **Astapor **Valyrian Freehold Events *Ghiscari Wars *Doom of Valyria Titles *Great Masters of Meereen *Wise Masters of Yunkai *Good Masters of Astapor Races *Ghiscari *Valyrians *Dothraki Miscellaneous *Slavery *Dragons *Dragonlords *Unsullied (appear, unnamed) *Prostitution (bed slaves depicted in a Yunkai pleasure house) pt-br:Os Grandes Mestres de Meereen fr:Les Grands Maîtres de Meereen (Histoires & Traditions) Category:Histories & Lore